


What's a Soulmate?

by Me_Is_A_Funyon



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 17:25:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2858945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Me_Is_A_Funyon/pseuds/Me_Is_A_Funyon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fairy Tail guild recieves an unexpected prophecy. Eight chosen magical beings must find the "big bad" by merging their...hearts? With their soulmates? What in the world does that mean?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What To Do

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fanfiction. Meaning, none of the characters are mine. The idea of this cast's adventure is mine, but the rest of this world and lives are NOT MINE. These are creations of Hiro Mashima. 
> 
> The cover was edited by me, but the drawing wasn't made by me. The owner has full rights, I just used the picture to make sense of this story. 
> 
> There will be some references made to other stories/fanfictions/movies. I will be happy to give credit at the end of each chapter if anything like that is used. 
> 
> The video I will include at the end is not mine. It was taken from Vine as an edit

In the far away land of the Kingdom of Fiore, there is a town that goes by the name of Magnolia. That town is full of magical places, especially a guild made up of the most powerful wizards known. The guild is known as Fairy Tail. Mages from all over can join this magnificent guild, known for how powerful they are. The wizards take jobs, in which they are payed by the people in need for solving any problems they may have. They may not be the safest guild, considering they destroy anything on their path. Yet they make up for it with all their passion. 

What other people outside of the guild don't know, though, is that while they may solve other people's problems, they have many of their own.

"Calm down!" Erza's voice could be heard all throughout the guild hall. As soon as the last person had the command reach their ears, everybody went still.

"This is no reason to panic. The prophecy could mean a lot and could mean nothing at all," the redhead said. 

Bixlow rolled his eyes. "It don't seem like it ain't big!"

"It doesn't even sound bad!" argued Mirajane. "Levy, what did you find on it?"

The bluenette was scanning her way through a mountain of books next to her. She seemed extremely focused, which usually meant she was close to figuring something out. 

"Where's the old man?" asked Gray. Surely the master would know what to do.

Erza trained her eyes on the ice mage. "In his office, and he'll stay there. This is no reason to interrupt whatever thing he may be doing. Could be anything, could be important."

Gray huffed, but didn't argue. Nobody was stupid enough to argue with Erza. At that moment, a very happy Dragon Slayer walked into the room with his blue cat by his side.

The pink-haired boy caught on the rest of the guild's mood. "What's wrong with all of you?"

Gajeel growled. "Some guy came in here, claiming he was 'the son of the prophecy god' whatever that meant. Started spilling some random prophecy."

"It wasn't random," interfered Levy. "It's called 'The Prophecy of Two Hearts'. A handful of magical beings are chosen by....the prophecy god....to fulfill a celestial task. Their hearts need to merge in order to do this. That has to be done with their soulmates. There will be two hearts, though, whose love will lead the rest."

The guild was silent. Too silent for Natsu's liking. He went to the board to look for a job.

"I don't know about you guys, but I don't see any celestial-y jobs."

Lucy stepped closer to Levy. "Could celestial task mean anything to my celestial spirits?"

Levy shrugged. "Could be. It doesn't specify anything. We just gotta wait and see what happens."

Nobody was too happy with that answer, but there was nothing else to do. The rest of the wizards went back to their usual tasks, but the tense atmosphere could still be felt. Erza decided to take matters in her own hands. She grabbed Gray and Natsu by their ears, and dragged them over to Lucy and Levy.

"We need to do something about this. Everybody knows that prophecies are never a good thing," stated the redhead. 

"Maybe we can talk to Makarov," said Lucy carefully. "We can at least figure out something about this task."

Erza was about to shake her head, when Gray stopped her.

"Don't be so dense. You know the old man never does anything on days like these."

After finally convincing Erza, the wizards decided to ask the master. Gray and Levy started walking away at a fast pace, Lucy hot on their trails. Unwillingly, Erza followed suit. Before Natsu could follow, Wendy came up behind him.

"What's up, Wendy? Sting being annoying again?" Natsu asked.

Wendy shook her head. "No, I just have a question. I'm guessing it's stupid...."

Natsu grinned. "Have you met me? Come on, ask!"

She bit her lip. "Um, what's a soulmate?"

At this, Natsu stayed silent. He looked at her in the eye. He didn't have an answer for her. "I-I don't know. But when I find out, you'll be the first person I'll tell!"

Wendy smiled widely and skipped away, glad she wasn't the only one with that question. Everybody in the guild had it, though. They knew what it meant, but couldn't quite grasp the concept. 

Natsu followed the rest towards Makarov's office. His guildmates were already talking to the old man. 

"Who will be going?" asked Lucy. 

Makarov looked at her. "How should I know? I'm not the prophecy god." 

Gray sweatdropped. He thought the old man would know something. "We need to figure this out soon. The prophecy guy said this had to be done by the end of this month, and we're already halfway through."

"What was the prophecy?" Natsu asked as he tilted his head.

Erza, who'd been surprisingly quiet, spoke up. "Two shall lead, the rest of six. The task be done, at month's end dawn. A sacrifice of one's past mind, to succesfully allow the big bad's find."

"That doesn't sound thag bad!" Natsu interjected. "You've just got to find eighg people to find this 'big bad'!" 

"That's the thing, Flamebrain," Gray rolled his eyes. "We don't have any idea who they are and what the 'big bad' is."

"That won't be hard, Stripper. Gramps can choose them! Or the prophecy god will make them shine!"

"It's not that easy, Natsu," said Lucy.

"This has to be thought carefully. We can't risk anything," added Erza. 

While they all bickered about what was going to happen, Makarov was deep in thought. Porlyusica had mentioned something about that prophecy. She'd mentioned some 'mark'. He, of course, didn't pay attention to that. She'd said names, though. What were the names? 

He snapped his fingers. "Ah, I remember!"

Everybody went silent and stared at him expectantly. "Well...?"

"Yes, I've heard of this before. The mark.... I believe it was something engraved in the soul. That's how they were chosen."

Lucy gave a relieved sigh. "Okay then! How do we know they have the mark?"

"I'd need to see with Master Sensor, of course," Makarov nodded. "The task, though, is quite simple. The least payed one on the board. The one that seems the easiest. That will be it, I'm sure. Won't be an obvious one."

"Do your magic!" screeched Happy. 

Makarov closed his eyes as he concentrated. He could feel the magic burning at the tip of his fingers. His body was slowly being swallowed by brightness. Then, in a flash, it was gone. When he opened his eyes again, he could see the magicians who were currently in his office draped across the floor. 

"Well," he said. "Now go find the other three magical beings and get on with this prophecy already."


	2. Confused With No Answers

The pink-haired boy was on his way to the Fairy Tail guild the day after the prophecy was announced, when he saw Lucy by the corner of his eye. Natsu turned around and walked up to her. Lucy was looking into space, seemingly deep in thought. When Natsu waved his hand in front of her face, she shook her head and stared at him. 

"Oh, hey Natsu!" she exclaimed. 

"Hi!" he replied. "What were you thinking about?"

"Well.... This prophecy? It doesn't make any sense in my opinion."

"Tell me about it." Levy appeared suddenly out of nowhere. "I was awake all night trying to find out what it means. There is no book that says anything about a 'big bad'. I mean, come on. It's a supid name!"

Lucy giggled. "You'll figure it out eventually! But we know that we're part of this prophecy, who do you think is your soulmate...?!"

Natsu drowned away the sound of their voices. He felt uncomfortable with the soulmate talk, since he didn't get it. Fall in love? Find a best friend? He just didn't know what it meant. What bothered him the most, though, was that he didn't have an answer for Wendy. 

"...right? Natsu, Natsu! Hey are you even listening?" He looks up to be confronted by piercing blue eyes. He'd somehow gotten to the guild and sat down with his team to discuss the prophecy. 

"Huh?"

Gray sighed. "Baka," he muttered. 

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You're no better, Ice Cube!"

The two rolled off the table as Natsu threw himself onto Gray. The rest of the team ignored them as they continued talking about their plans. 

"I was contacted by Jellal. He should be arriving any moment now. He felt the same thing we did," explained Erza. 

Lucy said, "So did Loke. I can summon him when we're all ready."

A certain Iron Dragon Slayer came up behind Levy and poked her. She turned around to fuss at him, when he held his hand up. "Count me in for the thing. Everybody in the town stared at me weird yesterday. It's not everyday you see a man suddenly drop to the floor."

"Not as bad as falling in front of a bunch of gay druggies. Man I got away quick enough by luck," Jellal walked in. 

Levy clasped her hands together. "We have everybody! Now we need to find the quest! Shouldn't be too hard."

In the distance, the team could hear two bickering voices. Of course, it was just Gray and Natsu.

"This is the easiest one! Your's is hard!" 

"No way! Mine is easier than what you have!"

"That's it," Gray growled. He raised his fist to punch the other, when Erza commanded him to stop. He quickly put it down as he and Natsu draped their arms around each other.

"No fighting," she glared at the boys.

"Aye!"

"Makarov said it was the easy one AND the one payed the least. Honestly you two-" Erza was abruptly cut off my Lucy.

"Um, Erza. They're all the same pay."

The team looked at the board and sweatdropped. That could explain the boys's arguing. They all payed the same, and were all similar. Levy decided to step up and inspect the jobs. Considering all of her teammates were used to going on all sorts of jobs, she's probably the only one who could tell which one was the easiest. The one that caught her attention was at the bottom left corner of the board. It was a small paper. The only thing that was written was 'Help Needed'. There was an address in the corner, a town that was probably two days away by train. There was a drawing of a tall man with cold eyes. He had a mischevious smile, and wore a phedora. 'The big bad' Levy smiled widely.

"Found it!" she cheered as she showed the rest of her teammates the paper. 

"We must report it to the master and leave as soon as possible," Erza decided. Makarov was one step ahead of them since he was standing right behind them, causing Lucy and Levy to jump.

"I take it you are all ready?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. As soon as Lucy summons her celestial spirit we'll be off. In search for our...soulmates." The word sounded strange on Erza's tongue. She wasn't much of a love crazy person.

"Oh so you guys.... This will be good," Makarov smirked. 

"Come on," Erza said loudly. "We have no time to waste."

Lucy quickly summoned Loke, and the team made their way to the door with their belongings already packed. Levy was the last to leave, since she wanted to hear what the master had to say to Mirajane.

"Oh Mira," he laughed. "They think they need to find their soulmates."

Mira frowned. "Isn't that what the prophecy said, though? The eight of them needed to find their soulmates."

"Yes, but they have already found their soulmates. They just need to figure it out. Why do you think their group must be an even number?"

Levy couldn't hear anything else because she was being dragged off by Gajeel.

"Shrimp, hurry up!" They both jogged to catch up with the rest of the team. 

"Girls and boys separate. Both groups need a person to keep track of time. We don't wany any mess ups," Erza's glance to the boys didn't go unnoticed.

"We'll be fine! Well, except for Natsu," Loke looked at the Salamander who was already looking sick by just standing in the train station.

"Natsu will be fine!" Happy chirped in. "Erza, knock him out!"

Without hesitation, the redhead smacked Natsu hard on the back. He instantly blacked out and fell on her. Erza shoved him off to Gray, who groaned from the sudden impact.

"Gray-sama!" The ice mage's eyes widened as he recognized the voice who called out for him.

Juvia came running towards him, causing him to drop Natsu by surprise.

"Juvia heard about the prophecy. Maybe Juvia is your soulmate!" The rain woman's eyes shone with hope. 

"Yeah, well, we'll find out later! Right now we've got to find this 'big bad'," Gray responed. 

"But don't you-"

Lucy cut Juvia off. "Oh well, would ya look at that! It's time for us to go! Bye, Juvia!" 

The team quickly walked away. Gray looked at Lucy and mouthed a 'thank you'. He facepalmed himself when he remebered he'd forgotten something. The ice mage ran back to pick up Natsu, and quickly dumped him into the train. 

"That girl," Loke said. "She's head over heels for you, man. Why do you ignore her?"

"Used to it," he simply said. The team got organized as the train started moving. 

Nobody talked, seeming as they were all thinking about what was waiting for them. Especially Levy, who'd overheard Makarov and Mira. 'So does that mean...' she stopped thinking about it once her head hit the seat and she succumbed into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title could be used to express you all, right? Don't worry, more things will be explained. The real action won't start immediately, since I want to take this at a slower pace than all my other stories. 
> 
> Oh, and the couples! Don't worry, I haven't given any hints as to who's with who.
> 
> Unless all you sneaky people are smart.
> 
> Then you have it all figured out.
> 
> Don't say!
> 
> Ciao me bunnies!


	3. All Aboard

The train was probably the worst thing the group could've done. Even while everything was silent, Natsu could be heard groaning and moaning. 

Lucy had given up on trying to help him, just like everybody else. Only a day and a half left, they had to remind themselves. The boys were stuck with the pink-haired boy. Loke went back to the celestial spirit world and asked to be summoned back when they were done with the train. Jellal was lucky enough to disappear, and Gajeel had been sleeping through the whole ride which was worrying. Happy was nowhere to be seen. 

Gray had no luck whatsoever. He was up all night with the annoying sounds coming out of the Salamander's mouth. Finally he couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up and walked over to the cubicle next to him wherr Natsu was sprawled over. 

"Dammit, Flamebrain, why can't you be normal?" he growled. 

Natsu barely looked up at him before puking on the bag Levy had gotten him. Gray brought his fist back and was ready to strike Natsu, when Happy came flying in and tumbling to the floor. Behind him, a rather angry Carla and grinning Wendy were standing next to Natsu.

Wendy waved. "Happy asked us to come and help with Natsu."

"Aye!" Happy screeched. Wendy brought out a small vial containing a purple substance. It was bubbling, and Gray could faintly smell the scent of cookies Ur used to bake. 

"What's that?" he asked, sitting down next to Natsu.

"This," said Wendy rather proudly, "is Medicina Magico. It smells like a person's favorite food, and can heal any low-health problem they may have."

Gray nodded in approval, just glad he might be able to finally sleep in peace for a few hours. After mumbling a quiet 'Smells like salmon', Natsu swallowed the potion and immediately sat up.

"Woo!" His eyes got wide. "I'm all fired up now!"

Wendy giggled and tapped a sleepy Carla on the shoulder, who grabbed her and flew away without so much as a goodbye. Gray, despite everything, smiled to himself. 

"Glad you're okay, man," he said.

Natsu laughed. "Woah, Stripper. Gettin' soft now are we?"

"Screw you," Gray grumbled. "Be happy I'm nice for once. I should be kicking ya outta here for not letting me sleep."

Natsu just rolled his eyes and turned to face Happy. The ice mage went back to his cubicle and closed his eyes. Almost instantly, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. 

That didn't last long. Gray was woken up by a crash right next to him. Before he could properly wake up, a figure started walking towards him. It was tall and slender, and Gray could make out a phedora on its head. The figure was closing in on him, but before anything happened, two hands grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him behind. Gray rubbed his sore head and looked up, only to be met by defying green eyes.

"Wake up, Ice Princess," Natsu commanded. "We got company." 

Jellal appeared out of nowhere, and Gajeel decided to finally wake up looking sicks for some reason. Happy flew away, most likely in search for the girls.

"Well," a man's voice hissed, sending shivers down Gray's spine. "We got the whole dream team."

The voice sounded strangely familiar, but Gray shook the feeling off. He ripped his shirt off and got into battle stance. 

"Yeah, the team that's gonna beat your sorry ass back to where you came from," Gray spat. 

The figure laughed, a sound resembling that of two metals sliding against each other. The man came into the light, his smile wickedly playing on his face. Then Gray noticed, it was Silver. But that was impossible. 

Soon the girls came running in, their hairs messy but their faces fierce. Lucy looked at the man and gasped.

"Aquarius?"

And that's when it hit Gray. Deceiving Magic. He subconsciously looked at Natsu, and was angered enough to kill the Deceiver when he saw the pink-haired boy's face. 

Natsu was staring wide eyed at the man, his eyes tearing up but no actual tears falling. His fists unclenched as he fell to his knees. His mouth was agape, trying desperately to form the words Gray prayed desperately he wouldn't hear.

And the words that croaked out of Natsu's mouth destroyed what was left of Gray's calmness. "Is that you Igneel?" 

Without thinking about it twice, Gray lurched forward and tackled the figure to the floor. Erza requipped into battle armor, slashing around at the shadows the Deceiver had created. The shadows were creepy, with what looked like fangs hanging out from their open mouths.

"Open gate of the lion: Leo!" Lucy roared. 

Gray scrambled up and stood in ice make stance. "Ice make: lance!" He threw it towards the man that was clearly not Silver, who easily dodged it. 

Gajeel and Levy stood side by side, trying desperately to take out the shadows who's numbers were increasing by the second. Jellal was off to the other end of the train, speeding past the shadows and making them disparse. Lucy and Loke quickly joined Gray, ready to take whoever was in front of them out. Erza was being held down by a group of shadows that were snaking their way down her body. Jellal came as quick as lighting and disparsed the shadows. 

"You kids are tougher than I imagined," the Deceiver mused. 

Gray's blood started burning. He stood his ground and glared at the Deceiver. 'I swore I'd never use this unless completely necessary,' he grimly thought. Gray inhaled, ready to perform the Ice Devil's Rage, when a flash of pink hair appeared and smashed the figure to the wall of the train. 

Natsu was standing firmly in front of the Deceiver that had cause him pain in such a short time. His eyes were blazing. From the window of the train, Gray could see people running away from the fight. He'd forgotten they weren't alone. 

The Deceiver smirked. "Salamander."

Natsu frowned, moving closer to Gray. "I am aware that is my name."

Loke smiled, shaking his head in amusement. The celestial spirit could always make a joke out of everything.

Lucy looked at Gray, who was staring intensely at Natsu. An idea popped into her head, but she kept quiet. Gray could already tell what Natsu was planning, and was ready to stand up and take action.

"You are all nearing my place of most power," the Deceiver snarled. With a snap of his fingers, the shadows that were previously attacking the Fairy Tail members backed away and jumped out of the train.

"You all know the prophecy, I assume. Sacrifice is all that awaits. A psychological game, that's how I do things. Are you prepared to give anything else up?"

Natsu shruggged. "I've already given up everything."

Natsu grabbed Gray's hand and pulled him up, both standing side to side. Natsu lit up the palms of his hands while Gray swizzed the ice in his palms. Just as they were about to do their attack, the Deceiver put his hand up and vanished. 

Everybody stared dumbfounded at the spot where the Deceiver had been. There was no trace left. No proof that there had been another wizard in there with them. In the mirror, an elementary young kid was staring at the mages with wide eyes. His face basically mirrored everybody else's faces.

The wizards just shook it off and went back to their sleeping cubicles, too tired to do any thinking. Tomorrow was another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow I remembered to update would ya look at that! The fact that I'm ignoring every other story because of this one is just...dam. Buuut hey look on the brightside you lucky peasants get better updates huehuehue. 
> 
> As you can see I kind of started the shipping action. But don't worry, it turns a whole lot more dramatic. So yeah watch out for that.
> 
> Ciao me carrot-eating bunnies


	4. Never Mind That

The train was quiet. Every passenger was having a peaceful morning after a confusing night while eating breakfast the station had payed because of the dusruption. Little kids could be hear giggling, throwing their fruits at each other while their parents scolded them. Some merchants tapped their working boots on the floor, whistling a tune only they seemed to know. It was a nice morn-

"You idiot! You could've gotten yourself killed, Stripper!"

"What was I supposed to do? Leave everybody in danger? Is that it!"

Lucy sweatdropped as she heard the two boys fighting behind her. Natsu was mad that Gray had fought against the Deceiver. The blond had a nagging feeling that it was because the ice mage had proven to be stronger that one ocassion. 'Seriously,' she thought, 'it was only one fight.'

Erza barged into the room with a menacing look on her face. "We have got to find out who this Deceiver is."

"Well," Jellal said, coming out of nowhere. "He's obviously who we're looking for. The guy plays mind games, we've got to be careful. Who knows what he can do."

Levy, who was caught up in reading a book, looked up. Her usually neatly styled hair was a tangled mess. She was the only one still in pajamas, and her eyelids were halfway closed. 

"I've been up all night. There's no such thing as deceiver magic anymore."

"Apparently that's not true," said Loke.

Lucy tapped her fingers impatiently on the floor. The coffee in her hand was cold by now, but there was no need for caffeine. She was already too worked up with the whole situation.

"This is scary," she mumbles. "If this type of magic shouldn't exist anymore, then it means danger."

Natsu and Gray sat down in front of her with their faces propped up on their hands in unison. Natsu wore a big grin, and Gray a mischevious smirk. Lucy raised her eyebrow at the two.

"It doesn't mean danger," said Natsu.

"It means fun," finished Gray. 

Levy rolled her eyes and looked back to her book. All she wanted to do was find some information of that ancient type of magic, and she'd feel accomplished. She had a weird feeling that there was more to thr Deceiver than appeared in the books. The page on deceiving magic was in only that book. It had a cross across with a stamp that read "NO LONGER IN THIS WORLD". 

"I don't know about you guys," Loke piped up. "But I am starving, and this train food is disgusting."

Lucy nodded in agreement. "But there's nothing we can do until we get-"

"Yes there is," Erza interrupted. "We cam jump off and stop at a village. The rest of the walk might take us an extra half a day at the most." 

"Nah, I want to stay!" Natsu exclaimed. "I can never ride this thing in peace. It won't hurt us to~"

Everybody looked expectantly at Natsu who had a frown on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but immediately put his hand on top of it. The dragon slayer was turning as white as a sheet of paper at an extreme pace. Soon enough, he was draped all over the floor. Gray immediately walked put of the room, having learned that if hr wasn't quick he'd be stuck with Natsu. Before Levy could even stand up, everybody had ran out of the room. 

She clicked her tongue. "I guess we are jumping after all."

________ 

Lucy stared at the open door in front of her, hands sweating and legs shaking. Everybody was ready to jump out. Lucy had been pumped until she saw the outside. The village could be seen a few miles north, but the small journey of a desert before seemed scary. The blonde could imagine a random troll pop out of the sand, grabbing her feet, and taking her down. 'That's a nice thought,' she scowled. 

"Come on, Lucy," groaned Erza, who was carrying Natsu like a potato sack. "All you need to do is jump and keep going."

'Easy for you to say,' she thought. Having no other option left, she stood next to the redhead and nodded. Loke counted to three, and they all jumped. Lucy gasped as the fresh air slapped her across the face. All gravity had disappeared, as she momentarily felt like she was flying. Too soon for her liking, her feet touched the ground. Lucy screeched in pain, but managed to move her legs , breaking into a run. It all happened so fast. Her legs buckled and she could only put her hands in front of her as she made contact with the hard ground. After rolling a few feet in front, her body came to a stop. Almost immediately, Loke had ran to her side and helped her up, all while holding back a laugh. 

"Well," she huffed while straightening her skirt. "That was painful."

Levy, who was currently on the floor, nodded in agreement. Erza threw Natsu on the floor, who stood up and grinned. "Wasn't that bad!"

"Yeah, because I did all the work," Erza glared at him. 

Gray looked around, frowning when he saw the village. "About five miles away. I hope the food is worth it."

The group grabbed their scattered bags, securing them on. 

"Food's food, Ice Cube. No matter what, enjoy it!" Natsu said, drooling as the thought of food invaded his mind. Loke nodded in agreement, and soon both boys were racing off. 

Five miles and two stops later the group found themselves in front of a diner. The name read 'Ignore the Pests'.

"I really hope that's just for humor," Lucy shivered.

The door's bell ringed as the wizards made their way inside. There weren't many people inside, leaving a wide variety of choices where to sit down. The eight sat down in a table at the far corner, plopping down and dropping their bags with a loud thud. A waitress skipped towards them with an excited grin on her face.

"New customers!" she squealed. "We barely get any!"

"Maybe it's because of the name," Lucy mumbled, earning her a small glare from Levy.

"Here are your menus! I'll be back in a sec with drinks! We really only have water~" the girl looked uncomfortable.

Gray shrugged. "Liquid is liquid. I take any kind."

After the white haired waitress left, Loke turned towards Gray.

"Bro," he sighed. "That sounded disgusting."

Before Gray could give a retort, the doors of the diner flew open. There were two men holding up a woman. The men could be identified as twins, with the same broad shoulders and angled face. The woman, on the other hand, looked frail. Lucy imagined that of she only touched the woman, said person would simply shatter. Her brown, thin hair covered her face. But Lucy noticed the way her lip trembled, as well as her hands. 

"Help!" one of the men yelled. "She was attacked by the Big Bad!"

'The Deceiver?' Gray thought. He stood up and walked over to the men, taking a good look of the woman. Her eyes were wide, lips fleshy, and fingernails bleeding like she had bitten them. 

"Are you okay?" he asked surprisingly soft. 

The woman looked up at him, and her eyes widened even more. She struggled out of the grasp of the two taken back men, and clutched Gray's shirt. She started talking in a language Gray couldn't quite place. The other seven magicians scrambled up to help Gray. Jusg before he was set free, the woman stared into his eyes as if in a trance.

"Memories are golden," she whispered. "Slayer will soon be silver."

And then she fell. Just like that. Gray stared in confusion at the unconscious woman in front of him. Her breathe was steady, but even in this state, she looked uncomfortable. Erza looked at him with a questioning expression on her face. The only response she got was a small shrug.

Happy fumed. "Does that mean I won't get my salmon?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooow finally finished with this chapter
> 
> Felt like forever
> 
> I think it's longer than the rest! Maybe I'll keep writing it like this. Pieces a day!
> 
> I really don't know if it's longer, I'm checking once I post it
> 
> So professional
> 
> Hope you guys liked it! Next chapter is them arriving at the village with the Deceiver
> 
> Until next time bunnies!!!!


	5. Story Has It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I'd been updating on Wattpas but not here aaaargh!

The eight hour walk to the village was one of the most horrible things Levy had ever done. She would've enjoyed it if she could have read during the way there, but Gajeel kept knocking them off her hands and getting them dirty. Eventually she gave up, and walked silently the rest of the way while Gray and Loke argued with Gajeel and Natsu.  
"Could you guys stop? It doesn't matter whether pandas are better than koalas," Lucy said.  
Natsu gasped. "What do you mean, Lucy? Do you not care? Koalas are obviously better!"  
"In your dreams," Gray fired back. "Pandas are multi-cultural!"  
"Koalas are cuter!" Gajeel roared, causing Levy to laugh. A man just doesn't look manly while saying the word "cute". She tuned them out when Loke started describing panda eyes. The only thing on her mind was how deceiver magic wasn't supposed to exist. 'Not in this world,' she recited. 'What does that mean?'. She'd read about the theory of other dimensions, but there was no reason for both to collide. It was nearly impossible.  
"Agh, this is too confusing!" Levy hadn't noticed she'd said that out loud until she saw everybody looking at her.  
Gajeel roughly patted her head. "Don't ya worry, Shorty. I'm sure you'll figure it out."  
Levy grinned despite herself. Gajeel seemed to make her do that. "As soon as we get there I'll be digging through more books."  
"That," Jellal said. "Won't be too long from now."  
Levy skimmed the land in front of her. The village was fairly big, with houses built almost the same way. Creamy colors splashed on the walls, reminding Levy of a dystopian book she'd read. Iron gates separated them in the forest from the inside. A young man was sitting near the entrance, a cap covering his face.  
"I hope there's food," Natsu happily said.  
The guard felt their presence and looked up, scowling while he did so. "Sorry kids, but nobody comes in or goes out. The curse."  
All the Fairy Tail members instinctively revealed their fairy marks. Lucy looked around.  
'Brings back memories,' she smiled, remembering the time they went to that "cursed" island full of demons. That had been one of her most favorite jobs.  
The guard stared at them with slightly wide eyes, and inmediately apologized. "Excuse me, I didn't know you were wizards coming to help I~" he trailed off.  
Erza chuckled and raised her hand. "Don't worry. There was no warning. It was of last notice, to us even."  
The guard quickly srambled up and clanked a club on the gates. After a few moments, the iron bars creaked open. Without the Gajeel food hiding it, the place looked beautiful, yet simple. The team walked inside, staring at everything around them. Natsu's nose immediately caught a delicious smell, and he grinned at Happy.  
"Tuna!" they both exclaimed, pumping their fists up. The two were quick to separate from the group and investigate where the smell was coming from.  
"So," Erza piped up. "We've got to stay somewhere. Levy, you take care of that with Lucy. You boys, come with me."  
The remaining seven spread out to do their jobs. Lucy kept kicking rocks out of the way as they walked near the shore of the lake, spreading her arms next to her like always. Levy had a book in hand, trusting Lucy wouldn't do anything like Gajeel.  
"You find anything?" Lucy questioned.  
"No," Levy sighed. "You find a place?"  
Lucy was about to shake her head no, when a blue building caught her eye. It stood out like a sore thumb, considering the rest of the buildings were cream. She grabbed Levy's arm and pulled her towards the place. It was about four stories high, according to Lucy's estimation. Levy rang the bell for a helper to come, and a girl popped out of the back. Big, brown eyes were wide.  
"Hello!" Lucy grinned. "We were looking for a place to crash. Do you mind helping us?"  
"You...are new? New people don't come in," the girl whispered.  
Levy laughed nervously. "We're gonna end that! Here to help."  
The girl called behind her in a language Levy had always loved, Italian. An older version of the girl came out dying her hands on her dress.  
"How may we help you?" Her accent was thicker than the girl's.  
"We're wizards from Fairy Tail! Here to help with the Big Bad," Lucy said proudly. The woman studied the two mages, and nodded her head.  
"We have rooms to share. How many?"  
"Eight, unless flying cats count," Levy joked. The woman didn't even crack a smile, and ushered them out.  
"Get your friends," she commanded. "There is much you all need to know."  
Meanwhile, Natsu and Happy were scarfing down the whole village bakery. People watched them in amazement as they drowned themselves in food, asking for more food as soon as they finished.  
"How can you manage to eat so much and still stay fit, Pyro?"  
Natsu merely looked up as the ice mage who'd spoken slid into the seat in front of him. Happy kept eating his fish, not taking his huge eyes off Gray.  
"Weren't you with Erza and the rest?" he asked.  
"Yeah," Gray scratched his head. "I got lost. Kept staring at a shop and~"  
Natsu raised his hand and pushed a plate of egg rolls over to Gray. He grinned at the demon slayer. "I got your favorite!"  
Gray raised his eyebrows at Salamander, poking the egg roll with his pinky. He slowly picked it up, and took a bite. Natsu wasn't looking at him anymore, but his face was...weird.  
"What did you do to this?" Gray asked, putting the roll down.  
Natsu picked up an egg roll from a different plate and popped it in his mouth, frowning. "Apparently nothing-AGH."  
The pink haired boy started fanning his mouth. He grabbed a waitress's water container and sipped the thing empty. Smoke was coming out of his ears, Gray noted.  
"I get it now," Gray smirked, taking a bite of his safe egg roll. He didn't notice that he grabbed the wrong one.  
"HOLY SH-" Everybody that had a kid screamed at him, so Gray shut up. Happy had a tiny smile on his face, shaking his head at the two.  
"Gray and Natsu haven't changed."  
After Lucy and Levy had found Erza and the boys, they all made their way to the building they'd be staying at. The woman, who they learned her name was María, had gotten four bedrooms ready. The little girl, called Kamila, gave them a bunch of fluffy pillows Loke had immediately jumped on.  
"So," Lucy sat with her legs crossed with the rest of the wizards. "What did we need to know?"  
María was sitting next to Kamila, both drawing weird shapes on a notepad.  
"The Big Bad," the woman and girl flinched as the name cane out of their mouths. "Should not be spoken about. Have a peek at its power."  
Without another word, they both raised their hands and slammed them down on the notepad. Roman letters traveled across the celestial beings' eyes. Everybody was enveloped in a blinding white light. One moment they were suspended in mid-air, staring at complete darkness. Not even able to see each other. Then they crashed on a wooden floor that gave out a sickening crack. The mages rubbed their heads, everything blurry for a moment.  
"This is the start," a voice could be heard. Natsu stood up and began punching at the air.  
"Whoever you are, mystery voice, get us outta here! Lucy is slightly claustrophobic!"  
The room they were in was, in fact, too small for Lucy's comfort. She began panting, cluctching at her shirt as she imagined the roof falling on her. 'I seriously have got to stop these thoughts,' she scolded herself.  
"Why would she?" the voice spoke.  
Natsu stared incredulously at the wall. "We're in a small-"  
His voice caught in his throat as a large corridor appeared before him. "Was that there before?"  
Erza looked around, squinting at the darkness. She commanded for everybody to stand up, and started walking down the corridor. The only thing keeping her from hitting something was her hands in front. Natsu then lit a flame on his fist. It didn't brighten the corridor much, but it did help them see where they were stepping. A small door opened out of nowhere, causing them all to jump back.  
"He was sucked in," the voice hissed. Suddenly they were inside the room, looking around a place anybody would call home.  
"And he abused," the voice said again. In a table with every food Natsu could think off, everybody was stuffing their faces with no control. Levy looked already full, but couldn't find it within her to stop.  
The voice spoke again. "But the Big Bad loves revenge."  
Before Gajeel could register anything, they were running. His feet were moving at an incredible speed, but he scratched his chin. 'What are we running from?' he asked himself. The iron eater tried to stop himself, but it was like he had no control of his actions. Hearing a shriek, he whipped his head around.  
Levy was being held down by a shadow, similar to the ones they'd encountered at the train. "Help!"  
But nobody could. In the blink of an eye, more shadows appeared. As they closed in on the rest of the group, the mysterious voice spoke again. "He should've just said yes."  
The image of a man in a white room, shaking uncontrollably appeared before all of them. He had a crazed look in his eyes, and was staring right at the wizards. When he opened his mouth, Lucy expected to hear a male's scream. Instead, what came out was the mysterious voice's voice, clearly being identified as a woman. "Always say yes!"  
A swirling cloud of shadows started pulling at the group. The pull was so much, Gray was itching to just let it take him. Two giant hands enveloped him before he could run, knocking him out. Everybody struggled to break free, unfortunately they weren't psychologically strong enough.  
Nobody was psychologically strong enough to handle the Big Bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it doesn't look nice or anything, but I'm transferring these files at 1 am so cut me some slack hehe


	6. Out of Body Experience

Gray hadn't slept for two days. Not much, considering he'd stayed up longer. But he knew that they'd have to fight the Deceiver once more, and that'd take energy.   
He was in his room, trying to get some sleep. Natsu and he had each gotten their own room, since nobody wanted to sleep with their wheezing and hyperactivity. The others weren't comfortable, he could tell, because the rooms were small. He just shrugged it off, reminding himself it was better for him.  
When he was finally drifting off, Loke came barging in. "Yo, dude! There were these girls passing by, and may I say, babes. You wanna go follow them?"  
Gray scowled at his celestial spirit friend, and begrudgingly sat up. His muscles ached. Stretching, he made a mental note to look for a gym somewhere.  
"I won't be able to sleep," he said in annoyance. "So sure."  
Loke grinned and pulled him quickly, noticing the girls were already walking out of sight. Aries would surely scold him for following girls, but at the moment he didn't mind. Gray, on the other hand, felt stalkerish. He'd first hand been stalked, and he knew how creepy it felt.   
Lucy saw them walk out, and shook her head. "One day Loke will get in so much trouble, and I won't help him with the killer girls."  
"What about Gray?" asked Levy, who was reading a book by her side.  
"He'll eventually notice he's being like Juvia, and I know how much that bothers him," she said simply.   
Levy nodded, in a trance from her book. She'd found what she thought was the "Ancient Book of Out of This World Magic." It was written in a language she didn't understand, so she'd been trying to crack the code, one may say.  
"Shrimp," Gajeel came up behind her. "You should stop for a bit, you could screw up your eyes real bad."  
Levy instinctively pushed her book behind her protectively. She glared at the Iron Dragon Slayer.   
"These books are my life, so no."  
Her tone made it obvious there was no arguing about it. Gajeel huffed and stomped away. Lucy looked around, frowing at the missing sight of her Slayer.  
"Where's Natsu?"  
Salamander was walking around with Happy, thinking about nothing in particular. His scarf hung loosely around his neck, making him warmer than a normal person would've liked. He enjoyed it, though. The warmth reminded him of Igneel, and that made him feel like his father was still inside him.  
Happy flew around Natsu's head. "Did ya figure out what a soulmate is?"  
The pink haired boy looked at his feline friend. He'd forgotten about the promise he'd made to Wendy.  
"No," he sighed. "But I won't give up! I'll figure it out eventually!"  
Out of the corner of his eye, Natsu saw something move. It was an extremely familiar red tail. The thing kept slithering behind buildings. Natsu looked at Happy, who was staring off into space. 'Am I the only one who notices that huge thing?' he wondered.   
"Come on, Happy!" he exclaimed, dragging his companion behind him. The tail disappeared everytime Natsu thought he'd found it. Some towns people were looking at the Slayer with confused expressions. Natsu was too busy with figuring out what that tail was doing to notice.  
"What are we following, Natsu?" Happy asked.  
Natsu stared incredulously at him. "Are you telling me you haven't seen the huge tail that's been hiding from us?"  
Happy blinked, causing Natsu to groan. The he figured out why the tail looked so familiar, it was Igneel's. He closed his eyes, reminding himself that it was impossible. The Deceiver was messing with his head, and he needed to get over it.   
"Wait," he whispered. The Deceiver could put everybody in danger!  
Natsu focused his gaze on the red lie, following it around the village. At some point, some merchants got in his way and the tail disappeared from his view. Natsu punched a nearby pole, unfazed by the pain.   
That is, until he saw a cave. The cave itself isn't what caught his attention, but rather the dragon in front of it. Igneel's eyes looked soft and happy, reminding Natsu of a time when he was younger. His wings and warm body seemed so inviting, Natsu was tempted to run there and hug him. 'Stop,' he scolded himself. 'This is a trick.'  
Igneel walked inside the cave. Salamander looked around, still surprised how nobody noticed there was a gigantic fire dragon walking around. He decided to take the risk, and made his way to the cave. Happy followed without question, knowing that it was better if no questions were asked.   
The cave was dark. Rat pee odor was enclosed inside, making Natsu scrunch up his nose.   
"So you're the one, huh?"   
The Deceiver's voice resonated through the cave as a metallic sound.   
"Ya damn right I am," Natsu replied. "Just to be clear, what am I the one of?"  
Happy mentally facepalmed.  
"It'll be interesting, Slayer. Are you willing to give up gold?"  
"Stop speaking in riddles and show yourself you coward!" Natsu lit his palms.   
Right beside him, Igneel's face grinned at him. His fangs were as sharp as needles, scales as firm as iron. The kind hearted Igneel Natsu knew was gone, replaced with an evil trick of the mind.   
The dragon put a phedora on with his tail. "I hope your's is sharp."  
Before Natsu could even think about raising his fist, the tail slapped him across the room. His head felt whoozy. He quickly got up, managing to find balance.  
"Fire dragon roar!" Natsu closed his fists in front of his mouth. Igneel was instantly encased in a wild fire, which died with his shape. Now there was only a tall figure, and a phedora. Natsu couldn't see the face, which bugged him.  
"Let if be that way," the voice still unrecognizable.   
The Deciever snapped his fingers, and had Natsu instantly clutching his head in agony. Happy flew worriedly towards him.  
"What's wrong, Natsu?" he cried.  
The Fire Dragon Slayer's eyes rolled into his head, body falling to the ground.   
"You'll be my prize," the Deceiver grinned. He pointed a finger at Natsu, when Happy stepped in front.  
"Don't you do anything to him! You don't know who you just messed with!" Happy threatened.   
The Deceiver only smiled. "You'll make a good pet."  
Erza, who was busy making sure some girls didn't talk to Jellal, was tackled down by Levy.  
"I know what we're dealing with!" the bluenette cheered.   
"Spill it," Erza commanded.  
Levy dusted herself and helped Erza up. "The Deceiver uses his mind games to zoom in on his prey. Then he sends the person into a psychologically impairing state. Meanwhile, the body slowly decomposes in the real world-"  
"What do you mean by real world?" asked Lucy, who was slowly making her way towards them.  
"The Deceiver can only do so much in our dimension," Levy explained. "He's got to take the person's mind to his dimension, and let the body rot here."  
Erza called Gajeel and Jellal over, explaining to them what Levy had said. They all decided to gather everyone up and talk about the battle strategy.  
"Knowing Natsu, it'll be fight-beat-ask questions," Lucy giggled.  
Loke, who was carrying an unconcious Gray on his arms, ran towards the rest of his friends. He was sweating like a pig. Apparently he'd run a long way.  
"We gotta find Natsu," he huffed out.  
Lucy shook her head. "What are you talking about? We've got to worry about Gray!"  
"You don't get it," Loke looked her in the eye. "He plopped down after screaming Natsu's name."  
Levy raised an eyebrow, something itching in the back of her mind. 'I know I've read about this,' she mentally groaned.  
Gajeel looked at Gray, brought his hand up, then swung it across his face. The ice mage flew across the room, waking up in a hurry.  
"Who the hell did that?"   
\--------  
After explaining to Gray that there was a problem with Natsu, the team started scouting throughout the village. There was no sign of Natsu or Happy. Lucy was starting to get worried, something telling her that Natsu was in deep trouble.   
Jellal knelt down. "These look like Natsu's sandals."  
"Hey!" Gray called out. "Over here!"  
Lucy quickly made her way towards the stripper, staring at the cave in front of her.   
"Natsu's in there," Gray said.  
"How can you tell?"  
Instead of answering, the raven haired male trudged inside. The scarce light from outside was the only thing keeping him from crashing into something. Lucy was immediately by his side, looking around.  
"There doesn't seem to be anybody here," says Levy.  
Gajeel nodded. "We should look elsewhere."  
In that same instant, a rush of wind knocked their breathes away. The dark figure who gave them a reason for coming sat in a small rock. His face was covered, but the phedora was obviously recognizable.   
"I guess the boy's one is a sharp one," it hissed.   
"You," Gray said weakly. "Where's Natsu?"  
The Deceiver stared at Gray, a humored grin showing from under the phedora. "You'll be with him soon enough."  
"We want him now!" screamed Lucy.  
From the corner of his eye, Jellal noticed darker splots on the ground. 'Shadows.' He slowly made his way towards Erza, who'd already noticed what was happening.  
Lucy was burning with anger. "I will not repeat myself," she warned.  
The Deceiver looked confused for just a moment, just a fraction of a second. He spread his hands out.  
"Shall I take you to my dimension?" he sneered. "I bet you'll like it."  
Levy gasped internally. There was no way she'd go to another dimension. They needed to find Natsu as quick as possible if they wanted to save him.  
"Don't!" she screeched. Too late, since Loke had already stood up and walked towards the Deceiver. Said wizard was blown away, looking intensely at the celestial spirit.   
Loke cocked his head to a dark area, no light could reflect on it. The only noticeable thing was a mess of pink hair, and a scarf hanging upside down.   
"Natsu!" Lucy called. There was no response from the Dragon Slayer.   
"This can't be," Levy whispered to herself. "He's too far gone."  
The Deceiver looked at Gray, who was right at his feet. The ice mage couldn't see what was under that brown and plain phedora, which frustrated him. The Deceiver bent down and held out his palm. A swirl of red light emitted from his hand, hypnotizing Gray.  
"He's right in there," the Deceiver explained. "Go in, and you can find your guildmate."  
Without hesitating, Gray threw himself forward.  
"Gray no!" Levy held her hands out.   
The raven was already being swallowed by the red, his body arched backwards. His soul was being vacummed in, pained sounds coming from his mouth. The last emotion that Levy could see from him was panic before what was left of him plopped down on the floor. Gray's body seemed frail, forcing Levy to look away. 'He can't look weak!' she cried.   
The Deceiver nodded in approval. "It was to be expected, was it not? It is clear in the soul, no, the mind."  
He turned to look at the rest of the celestial beings. "Now it is your turn. Pray your minds will have power, and just maybe you can survive."  
Levy tried to pull Gajeel, but he was too far from her. She managed to move a few feet towards the exit of the cave, but the light curled itself around her ankles. It snaked its way up, stopping at her neck. Levy could see her friends trying to break free as well.   
"Remember, gold is key!" the Deceiver laughed maniaclly. In an instant, the light completely covered all of their bodies. Their souls felt like they were being ripped apart, which was true in a sense.   
Lucy gasped in pain, blindly reaching out for anything that might help. All she saw was her body falling to the floor, then it was like she'd been knocked out.   
"Sour dreams."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll understand soon enough don't worry


	7. Lost in the Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this is the chapter I did a day ago. Now it's updated HALLELUJAH

Natsu woke up a little groggy. His back hurt, but other than that nothing appeared to be wrong. The light shone through María's window, lighting up Natsu's face. Confused, the Salamander looked around. 'Was it all a dream?' he wondered.  
Cautiously, he set foot on the cold floor, wincing. It was freezing. He looked under the covers, but couldn't seem to notice Happy anywhere.  
"Ah, he's probably eating! I gotta eat too!" he said to himself. Now excited for a flavorful morning, Natsu dumped his clothes on and ran downstairs. The main room was empty, which struck him as odd. 'Are they all asleep?' he questioned.   
The pink haired boy shrugged. "Oh well. A guy's gotta eat." Then he opened the fridge to help himself to whatever he wanted.  
Gray was staring at the blue sky with its stupid yellow sun. His morning had not been off to a good start. His muscled ached, he had no idea where he was, and nobody was around. The ice mage was stripped off of clothes, but that part didn't really bother him much. Nobody was there to see anyway.  
"Where the hell," he asked. "Am I?"   
Through the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of an orange mane. Now full of hope, he jumped up and ran towards the bushes. There was no sign whatsoever that there had been someone there.   
"Whoever you are, show yourself!"  
"Gray?" he heard a confused voice ask behind him. The raven spun around to come face to face with his fellow friend, Loke.   
"Why are you in your underwear?"  
Gray quickly grabbed some over sized leaves nearby and put them over him.  
"I woke up like this," he hissed. Loke smacked his back with a laugh, and settled down. His face was beading with sweat, usually neat suit ripped.  
Gray pointed with his chin. "What happened to you?"  
Loke just shrugged, his face seeming to contort with pain. "Some villagers tried to burn me. Said something about their princess having to be safe."  
"I would see why they'd try to keep you away," he chuckled. Loke glared half heartedly, then stood up.   
"We gotta find everybody else. I have a feeling this is what Levy was talking about."  
And with that, the two set off to a mysterious quest.  
Meanwhile, Lucy and Levy were fighting with lions. Lucy was up in a boulder, throwing rocks towards the herd. Levy was bathing them in iron bars she'd taken from the cell she woke up in. The two were screaming at the lions to get out.  
"Go away!" Lucy groaned. "Where are my celestial keys?"  
Levy shook her head. "I don't know why, but I can't use my magic!"  
Suddenly, the two heard a snarl in the distance. A flash of blue and black speed past them. In an instant, all the lions had run away. All that was left were an Iron Dragon Slayer and a blue, flying cat.   
"Gajeel!" Levy squeaked. She slid down the boulder and ran towards him. "Are you okay?"   
Gajeel grunted. "Yeah, I'm fine. Ya need me to save ya all the time, Shrimp?"  
But Levy didn't get mad, because she knew he was joking. Lucy, on the other hand, gasped indignantly.   
"How dare you? She worked very hard! If it weren't for her, I'd be dead!"  
The blond was now standing right in Gajeel's face, having to look up due to size difference. Despite that, Gajeel shrunk back.   
"Where is everybody else?" Levy asked. Gajeel turned towards her and simply shrugged. Happy flew to Lucy's face and started sobbing.  
"Where is Natsu? I haven't seen Natsu!"  
Lucy bit her lip and talked in a soothing voice. "Don't worry, Happy. We'll find him! After all, Gray didn't drag us all here for nothing."  
The blue cat, a bit more hopeful, gave a teary smile. "Aye!"  
Erza and Jellal were completely lost. They'd both woken up in a tower, one that reminded them both too much of the Tower of Heaven. After catching a canoe and getting to the mainland, they entered a confusing forest.   
"Do you sense anybody?" asked Erza.  
Jellal shook his head solemnly. "I think we're alone- wait a second."  
Erza opened her mouth to speak when Jellal slapped his hand over her mouth. She stared at him with a furious glare, and he quickly pulled away.   
"Sorry! Sorry! I heard something," he whispered.  
Titania kept her head low, scouting for anything that might be near. Upon hearing shuffling to her right, she took out her sword and attacked. Jellal, right by her, took his stance but could not muster up any magic.   
Erza slung her sword towards a dark shape, and another one grabbed her ankle. She twisted her foot, hearing a satisfying crunch from the other's hand. Using the butt of her sword, she smashed the standing figure's head.   
The red head was about to stab the shadowy figures when Jellal grabbed her arm. "Stop it!"  
Erza looked below her, and immediately recognized the two. Loke had a nasty bump on his head, but was otherwise fine. Gray, on the other hand, was far from it.  
"Damnit! Why would you break my arm?" he demanded.   
Erza quickly bent down to check Gray's arm. Jellal may have been staring at her from behind, and Loke may have noticed.   
"Don't scare us like that," Erza simply said.   
Loke rolled his eyes. "Great. We're in a mysterious world, and now one of our strongests is injured. Way to go!"  
Erza's look was enough to make Loke swallow his words. He turned around and helped Gray up.   
"Where are the others?" asked Loke.   
Erza shook her head. "Maybe they're all together, just like Jellal and I were."  
"But," Gray interjected. "Natsu is probably alone. He came before us. We gotta find him first!"  
Jellal chuckled, patting Gray on the back. "Calm down, Lover Boy."  
Gray rolled his eyes at the comment, but smirked nonetheless. "You're the one staring at Titania's a-"   
"Enough," barked Erza. "Gray's right. We have to find Natsu immediately. But there is no way of knowing what we're gonna go up against. So we need as much back up as we can."  
Gray was about to protest, but closed his mouth. It was true: they had no idea what to do. The Deceiver was too powerful, seemed impossible to beat him. 'For the first time ever,' though Gray. 'I'm scared.'  
Natsu squinted his eyes, trying to look past the blizzard that had come out of nowhere. His scarf covered most of his face. He was thankful Lucy's Virgo had gotten him warm clothes. Salamander had argued at first, but was now absolutely grateful.   
"Gray would be enjoying this," he thought out loud. "I really hope this blizzard attracts him. It's lonely."  
The pink haired boy wondered where his Exceed friend was. He hated being separated from Happy so long. The two were always together, and Natsu worried something may have happened to Happy on this strange place.  
Natsu crashed into a building while he was lost in thought. Looking up, he noticed that the place was enveloped in shadows. The inside looked like a normal movie theatre, but the hallways looked...odd.  
Without thinking about it, Natsu stepped inside. Immediately, the entrance disappeared. He whipped around, scouting for a way out. Dozens of shadows appeared from the dark corners. They grabbed Natsu, pulling at his extremeties. He burned some away, but many more kept coming. Eventually he couldn't fight, feeling drained from his energy. All he could do was scream.   
"Help!"  
Gray looked around, scratching his head in confusion. "Did you guys hear that?"  
Loke looked back. "Hear what?"  
Gray pointed towards a tall building and said, "We have to go in there." Loke and Erza followed, pulling Jellal from his trance.  
"Okay," Jellal said. "Are we not gonna talk about how a movie theatre appeared out of nowhere in a forest?"  
Lucy stopped walking abruptly, making the rest of her guild mates fall to the ground. She dizzily looked up, "Are you guys serious?"  
"Why'd you stop?" Levy asked.  
"I don't know," admitted Lucy. "I just had a weird feeling in my gut that there's something-actually someone-important near."  
Happy circled overhead, then pointed towards a mountain. "There's a building over there!"  
Gajeel scratched his chin. "Was it there before?"  
"Doesn't matter," said Levy. "We have to go if Lucy felt like that. Maybe the rest of the people are in there."  
She didn't mention the fact that she'd read about something like this. The book was written in ancient scripture, so it wasn't all that clear. But Levy did understand one thing, Lucy was feeling a connection to somebody inside. Maybe that way they could find the rest of their friends.  
"It looks like a movie theatre," Lucy commented. The four walked around, then frowned at the shadows inside.  
"We gotta go in there?" asked Gajeel.  
"I don't wanna," cried Lucy.   
Now determined, Levy pulled both Gajeel and Lucy inside. Happy stood by her side, attached to her leg. The shadows swirled around them, but otherwise stayed away. When they looked behind, the entrance that was once there had disappeared. The long hallways stretched endlessly.   
"It looks like all the unfortunate souls are in the within," a voice hissed. All eight mages could hear it, even though they were far from close. "Don't get too lost while looking for one another. It won't end well."  
"Especially for the Slayer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took this long I feel horrible
> 
> But anyways until next time bunnies!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, Bunnies! I thought a good come back to AO3 would be this cute fanfic I'm planning. Stay updated if you liked it! :)


End file.
